Easy Rider Day 2

Day 2 on the road with Easy Rider

It's the end of day 2 and I am still questioning my decision to take 7 days on this trip. My driver is clinically depressed (my professional opinion), and I am getting sick and tired of hearing about how 'poor' he is and how hard he has to work. Fu*k! We all have to work....and I'm sure that he is making enough off of me to live for about the next 4 months! What most people don't understand is that American's are not rich but instead, most American's live off of credit. If you take away all of the American's credit....the number of poor will be evident. People will keep their cars instead of 'getting rid of them as junk' as Stephane thinks. People will lose their home and live with their parents (like many in Vietnam do), people will not have money to go out to eat/play/etc (like the Vietnamese) and will sit at home in the evenings watching TV (of which they will have only basic channels and not HBO/Cinemax and the hundred other channels that we have now. People will not have money to go out and spend hundreds of dollars on clothing and instead will wear what they have, fix the holes and buttons or make their own clothing (like the Vietnamese). People will not spend thousands of dollars on home computers and internet and will instead go to local internet cafe's (just like the vietnamese do) and finally, people will be forced to work more than one job just to make ends meet...JUST LIKE THE VIETNAMESE DO!

Maybe I'm just tired, but I am tired of hearing about it. That and I SMOKE!! He knew this when he was hired and I'm tired of hearing about 'you smoke a lot' , 'you can smoke now', and how 'no one in Vietnam smoke Marlboro' Bullshit! There are Marlboro to be found everywhere! I find it interesting that he feels like he needs to give me permission to do anything...guess it goes back to my being independent. He tells me when I can smoke, when I can eat, when I can take a piss, when to wash my face, you name it and he tells me that I can do it. I KNOW I can smoke/eat/drink/piss! I'll do it when I feel the need!!! OH...while I am complaining...for some reason, I need to find a husband! Why? Because my driver thinks I do!! I hear about that about every 5 seconds too... I guess this must have to do with the Vietnamese culture? Although, I do get the same from many people back home too....so maybe it's just me that's fu**ed up?

I am also tired of hearing about the Vietnam/American war. I know that there was some bad shit that happened then but I AM NOT RESPONSIBLE. I didn't cause the 'war', I didn't fight in the war, I know that a lot of people died and I'm sorry. Just like I am sorry for all the crap that is going on in the middle east right now. I don;t claim to understand any of it and I wish that we could all live harmoniously together....but we don't, that's life, there WILL be war and whether or not we like it...it will happen!

Wow...that was quite a rant! I do feel a little better now.....

I think that the Vietnamese Diet that I spoke of in an earlier post is still holding true... Today I ate:

Badly cooked eggs (half) and a dry piece of crusty bread
Noodle soup of which I consumed about ¼ cup
1 Banana (one of the little ones that they grow here, about half the size of the ones in USA)
3 oz package of almonds (brought with me from US
3 small veggie wraps with rice paper
½ of a fruit shake (scared to eat more as it's made with tap H2O ice)

My stomach is making all sorts of weird noises and I am uncertain if I am trying to get sick or if I am just rumbling out of hunger! I would love some cheese and crackers right now!! ;o)

Then to top things off, I got extremely sun-burnt today. Only on the back of my neck and my arms (going to have a farmers tan for sure now). It is hotter than hell and there is no such thing as aloe lotion or anything that I can find to put on it to stop it from burning (guess the Vietnamese don't sunburn). So right now I have a cool , moist towel draped across my neck and over my arms....feels much better. And, before you ask....I have been wearing sun-screen!! I guess 9 hours riding in the hot sun is more than my skin could take. Tomorrow, I am wearing long sleeves and I am sure that I will roast to death, but I cant get sun-burnt again!

I'll fill you in on the sights later....been a long day and I am going to bed now!

Life is good ?? ...........